Warhorse Tattoo Art Show

“War” themed Art Show at War Horse Tattoo

George and Deb Campise of War Horse Tattoo in Berkeley, CA presented a group exhibition on the theme of “War”. The exhibition, which featured works by almost a hundred fine artists, illustrators and sign painters from across the country, opened on Saturday, February 21, and ran through March 21, 2015.

Each artist’s interpretation of the theme, which stems from the tattoo shop’s namesake, ranged from the literal to the abstract. There were pieces referencing U.S. and global conflicts, both historical and modern, and then there were works with subject matter that deal with the existential struggle that comes with personal involvement in war. And despite the dark topic, there was an overall tongue-in-cheek humor among many of the pieces.

Opening night of the show had an electrified atmosphere. With Led Zeppelin rocking through the speakers, community members of all ages filled the venue, flowing in and out through the doors of the tattoo shop at a steady pace. People seemed excited to talk about the pieces in spite of the morbid subject matter, but then again, this group already had an edge to it.

“Most people think of war to be a very specific concept,” said tattoo and fine artist Cameron Miller, who is one of War Horse’s residential artists and is also exhibiting a piece in the show, “but we were interested to see a wide variety of ideas from artists interpreting what war means to them.”

For example, Dana James, another resident artist at War Horse whose piece features a serpent wrapped around an infant wearing an eyepatch, told me, “That’s who we’re sending out to war.”

War Horse owner George Campise has been tattooing in the San Francisco Bay Area and internationally for 21 years. As an homage to the community, opened the doors to War Horse Tattoo for this exhibition of 92 talented artists and their visions of war.